In Tandem
by AngelicSilverWolf
Summary: They are a group of friends, companions, brothers/sisters in arms, a family - in other words a crew. They will protect each other to the last and nothing will come between them. Ever. (T for language. Straw Hat nakamanship.)


_**Summary:**_ **Luffy is more aware than most people give him credit for, including his own crew. Not that he has to tell them that.**

 _ **Rating:**_ **T, because nothing besides nakamanship and friendship stuff here.**

 _ **Warnings:**_ **Mentionings of sexual harassment, maybe OOCness, and violence (I guess). Sorta spoilers, but nothing too big. No yaoi, yuri, shounen ai,** **Shōjo** **ai, you guys know the drill.**

 _ **Pairings:**_ **GEN. Just friendship all around.**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **One Piece isn't mine, no matter how much I adore it.**

 _ **Additional A/Ns:**_ **No Brook or Franky because I haven't reached either of them in the manga yet, sorry. Maybe in future chapters, when I can properly characterize them. I just don't want to take that risk and make them OOC, so yeah…**

 **In Tandem Chapter 1: Not so Innocent**

 **By: AngelicSilverWolf**

' _The languages of friends is not words but meanings." – Henry David Thoreau_

Luffy knows more than people give him credit for, including his own crew. But only about some things. For instance, he knows what sex is. And therefore, he also knows about rape.

Most people would be surprised, but after an incident that happened when he was a child and was living with the bandits, he got a very thorough talking to about why exactly it was _a bad idea to follow strangers._ Ace and Sabo hadn't been happy, and the bandits had geared up to go beat up the son of a bitch (and possibly do the most painful castration of all time), but Dadan had literally beat it into their heads that it would be better to tell Luffy why they were all pissed and to make sure it never happened again.

The reason Luffy doesn't react when some random pervert tries to 'put the moves on him' is very simple. His crew. Ordinarily, Luffy would have more of a delayed reaction, but that was before he met Sanji. He had gotten somewhat used to advances and had decided that his crew didn't need to know about what some people tried to do to him. He only reacted if things got _too_ bad. Because, why bother making such a big fuss? (He wasn't that important, after all.)

He drank drinks with those stupid little pills in them that were supposed to make him woozy or knock him unconscious (little did those people know that he had built himself up an immunity when he had been in the safer reaches of Makino, who hadn't known about his experiments and tests) and let the people put their hands on his shoulders or thighs, whatever. Now, if they had tried to do that to Nami or someone young like Chopper, then there would have been _major_ consequences.

But it was just little ol' him and he could handle it. Sometimes he even pretended to go along only so that he could knock the perverts out in the alley where no one would see. Usopp hadn't noticed and neither had Nami and that was fine. Zoro had given him looks sometimes when he had returned smelling of alcohol in spite of the fact that he usually didn't drink (alcohol was nasty and he had _seen_ what it did to people), or with torn shirts, but nothing was said. Until, that is, the day they all _witnessed_ it.

Luffy knew they had herded him out of the bar so that he wouldn't see - wouldn't _know_ \- and he let them. He knew that Zoro and Sanji had _actually agreed_ on something and had been in the same murderous mindset when they had returned from beating the man - who had lain a hand a bit too close to Luffy's nether regions for comfort - six ways from Sunday with fierce and protective gleams in their eyes. Hell, even the usually upbeat Usopp had been shaking from suppressed rage. But, Luffy let them all know he was okay by smiling widely and demanding meat from his chef. The blond had grumbled and muttered, but the captain had been served an enormous dish of gourmet food, mainly consisting of meat.

It actually had gotten _worse_ when Robin and Chopper joined. Once, the younger doctor had noticed what was happening out of the corner of his eye and had stood up so suddenly that he had almost knocked the table over. The others had noticed the angry, foreboding look on his face and had instantly mirrored it one glance at Luffy's situation later. Nami had casually interrupted with a silently raging Zoro at her shoulder and the stranger's face had lost all color in a matter of milliseconds. Zoro and Sanji had casually escorted Luffy out with scolding expressions towards him and demonic auras towards the offender. And if Luffy noticed Chopper preparing one of his Rumble Balls, than he only laughed and said nothing of it.

Everything went relatively well. But Luffy knows that the smaller instances didn't happen without consequence. He knows that Usopp (who usually runs at the first scent of danger) stayed behind that one time slave traders tried to persuade Luffy to come with them and had given them the full dose of his slingshot abilities. He knows that Chopper 'accidentally' spiked a man's drink for trying to do the same to Luffy. (Coincidentally, he also knows that this man spent a week in the nearest medical center because his stomach rejected everything and anything given to him.)

He knows that Nami and Robin teamed up on a pirate that tried to _kidnap_ Luffy, and that said pirate ended up in prison a day later having been anonymously dumped on the front doorstep of a marine base, with nothing short of a few dozen broken bones and permanent fear of "demon pirate women". The two remained closemouthed about the whole thing, so he let it be. He knows that Sanji and Zoro teamed up against an entire freaking underground human trafficking business in one town, just because the leader had put out a profit for "that deliciously naïve and cute rubber-boy". There had been many Marines, crying criminals, and a scared-shitless boss lady involved. Rumors of demon cooks and inhuman swordsman circled that particular area for at least a decade afterwards. (And didn't he laugh after hearing those rumors.)

He knows this, and it just makes him damn proud that they're _his_ crew, _his_ nakama, and he'll be damned if he'll confront them about it. So, if he has to play the naive idiot for a time, then so be it. If it keeps Nami happy - exasperated, maybe - and Robin content, then he'll do it. If it lets Zoro and Sanji go a few hours without actively trying to knock each others' heads in, than the small sacrifice is worth it. If it keeps Chopper dancing his funny happy-dance and Usopp continuing his ridiculous stories that no one buys for a second but listen to anyway just to humor him, than Luffy _will keep acting like he doesn't know_.

Because, at the end of the day, retaining his idiot persona and keeping as much darkness out of their eyes is what's most important. They're his crew, after all.

 **A/N: So, I've been bouncing this idea around for some time now. I hope it's okay, and I don't know about updates yet, so don't ask. It could be never or it could be in a week. If you guys have any requests, please ask. But I refuse to right Yaoi, Yuri, slash, incest, or something that could be even remotely pedophilic. No romance either. Any Nakamanship or h/c or angst or tragedy or friendship is welcome; I might even do arcs and such.**

 **RECOMMENDATIONS (I take them too!):**

 **Adopted by Default – Kitsune Foxfire: A really good story about what would have happened if Luffy landed on the Moby Dick during the beginning of the Two year time gap. Ace and Whitebeard crew included, and the Straw Hat Pirates show up at one point, one by one. Rated T and hasn't been updated in a few months, but I keep hoping…**


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